With 10 states on the line on Super Tuesday, eyes are turning to Ohio, where Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney are locked in a tight struggle and focusing their efforts.
Two polls unveiled Friday showed Santorum with a small lead over Romney, who has been gaining ground in the Buckeye State after his wins in the Arizona and Michigan primaries on Tuesday night. A third showed Santorum with a larger lead. There are 66 delegates at stake in Ohio which will be divided on a proportional basis.
A poll of likely primary voters unveiled by Quinnipiac University on Friday finds Santorum leading with 35 percent, with Romney behind him with 31 percent. Newt Gingrich takes third with 17 percent, followed by Ron Paul with 12 percent. More than a third -- 34 percent -- of those surveyed say they could change their minds before Tuesday. Santorum led a Quinnipiac poll of Ohio released earlier in the week with 36 percent, followed by Romney with 29 percent.
"At this point, the Buckeye State is too close to call and is clearly a two-man race between Senator Rick Santorum and GovernorMitt Romney," said Peter Brown, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "A third of the electorate say they still might change their mind. With five days until Super Tuesday, they certainly will be exposed to enough negative television ads to provide fodder for those who might want to switch -- or switch off."
The poll of 517 likely Ohio Republican primary voters was taken Feb. 29-March 1 and had a margin of error of +/- 4.3 percent.
Rasmussen Reports took a poll of likely Republican primary voters in Ohio on Thursday and finds -- much like Quinnipiac's -- that its a close race between Santorum and Romney.
Santorum leads with 33 percent, with Romney right on his heels at 31 percent. Two weeks ago, a Rasmussen poll of Ohio Republicans found Santorum ahead by 18 percent. Gingrich places third with 15 percent, followed by Paul with 11 percent. Two percent favor other candidates. Only 8 percent of those surveyed say they are undecided.
The poll of 750 likely Ohio Republican primary voters was taken on March 1 and had a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.
A poll of likely Ohio primary voters from YouGov unveiled on Friday finds Santorum with a larger lead. That survey finds Santorum leading with 33 percent followed by Romney with 27 percent, Gingrich with 12 percent and Paul lagging with 9 percent. The YouGov poll of 650 likely voters was taken Feb. 25-March 1 and had a margin of error of +/- 5.3 percent.
Looking to cling to his lead there, Santorum focused on Ohio on Friday with media appearances in Cincinnati, a rally in Chillicothe and an appearance speaking to the Lake County GOP in Willoughby. Santorum plans to be back in Cincinnati on Saturday and is scheduled to speak to the Allen County GOP in Lima and to a Republican group in Bowling Green that night.
Romney was also busy in Ohio on Friday, unveiling his team in the state, led by State Auditor David Yost. State House Speaker Pro Tempore Louis Blessing, a veteran of both chambers of the Ohio Legislature from Hamilton County, also announced that he was backing Romney on Friday.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
